Gov’t to Provide Scholarships for 20.1 Millions Students Next Year

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 17 Agustus 2018
Category: News
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President Jokowi shakes hands with the Speaker of the House of Representatives after delivering speech on 2019 State Budget Bill before the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives at the Nusantara Building, Jakarta, Thursday (8/16).   (Photo by: Agung/ Public Relations Division of Cabinet Secretariat).

President Jokowi shakes hands with the Speaker of the House of Representatives after delivering speech on 2019 State Budget Bill before the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives at the Nusantara Building, Jakarta, Thursday (16/8). (Photo by: Agung/ Public Relations Division of Cabinet Secretariat).

The most important asset that Indonesia has is its people and to improve the quality of human resources and in accordance with the Constitution, the Government allocates 20 percent of the State Budget for education, according to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

The President made the statement when delivering State Budget Bill (RUU APBN) for 2019 Fiscal Year before the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Nusantara Building, South Jakarta, Thursday (8/16).

“In 2019, the proposed budget for education is Rp.487.9 trillion, 38.1% higher than education budget in 2014, which stood at Rp.353.4 trillion,” President Jokowi said.

The President further said that the Government does not only prioritize investment on physical infrastructure, but also provides investment and innovative policies in human resources to improve the quality of Indonesian people to compete in the world.

The President also explained that the Government has provided educational assistance and scholarships to students of pre-school, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, college and university (including PhD students) as well as for students of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah, Tsanawiyah, and Aliyah. The scholarship is mostly provided for students from disadvantaged families.

In the meantime, the School Operational Assistance (BOS) program provided by Government has increased the enrollment rates in elementary school, junior high school, senior high school and madrasah, President Jokowi added.

“In 2019, the Government will provide scholarships for 20.1 million students through the Smart Indonesia Program and 471 thousand students through the Bidik Misi scholarship,” President Jokowi added.

President Jokowi further said that from 2014 to 2019 the Government through Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) provides scholarships for about 27 thousand students from all over the country to pursue master and doctoral degree at the best universities at home and abroad, and provide grants for 123 selected researches.

State expenditure on education in 2019, according to the President, will be directed to strengthen the BOS program for 57 million students, improve the quality of civil servants and non-civil servant teachers through professional allowances and to accelerate school development and rehabilitation.

It will also be used to build 1,407 training centers at vocational schools, train 3,000 university students, strengthen integrated vocational programs, and provide classrooms and laboratories in 1,000 Islamic boarding schools, he added. (DNA/UN/AGG/OJI/GUN/ES) (RI/EP/Naster)

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